"Daniel L. Belton" writes:

On 17-Nov-2003, Frogleg wrote:

I see someone has already suggested turning down the water heater. For
what purpose do you need to maintain water that is hot enough to
scald? You mention a kitchen faucet, which suggests either dish- or
handwashing to me. Of course it's nice to have a near-boiling water
spigot for coffee and instant soup, but those are usually add-ons, not
OE.

For those two things, I would get one of the additional flash type hot water
spigots that are designed to dispense near-boiling hot water. I wouldn't be
heating all of my water to the higher temp just for the occasional cup of
soup. Or even the very frequent cup of coffee...

The traditional reason to have 140 degree water was for more effective clothes
and dish washing. Temperature makes a big difference in both cases.

However modern dishwashers mostly come with built in water heaters with
thermostats that wait until the water reaches 150 degrees. This is even better
for sanitary constraints than leaving the water heater on 140. If you have
such a dishwasher then you're best off lowering the hot water heater at least
somewhat, if not to 120. You'll reduce your hot water heating bill too.

As far as clothes washing I guess people just decided it wasn't worth the
physical risk for whiter whites.

You don't need 140 degree water to have hot showers. At that temperature
you'll be mixing in plenty of cold water just to avoid leaving the shower with
first degree burns. I like hot showers myself and wouldn't be surprised if 120
were too low, I don't know, but I'm pretty sure 140 isn't necessary for
anyone's shower tastes.

PS: My hot water heater is at 140, but then my dishwasher doesn't heat to 150
so that's my excuse.

--
greg